Question 44. What is “vacant” (Part 1, Chap 1, Inner Light, 4)
This is a place that is prepared to receive corrections and wholeness (Baal HaSulam, The Study of the Ten Sefirot, Vol. 1, Part 1).
A place in spirituality is called desire. And the desire can be “empty,” ready to accept corrections, or not ready for it; that is, it can be suitable or unsuitable for filling.
So how does one check if a desire is ready to be filled? A simple, initial desire is not enough, you need to prepare yourself for correction and filling! Therefore, a mere desire is not yet a “place.” A desire that is suitable for use is called a “place.”
Baal HaSulam gives the following example: if a person has an empty stomach that can hold several pieces of bread, this does not mean that he has a “place.” After all, if he is in a bad mood or has some problem, then he does not feel hungry. He is overcome by other concerns.
Therefore, an “empty place” is not just an emptiness, but a readiness to accept corrections or fillings. That is, a certain development is necessary within the desire to enjoy so that it reaches a state called “place” through four stages. And only when the desire develops to the final, fourth stage (Dalet), can it decide for itself whether it wants to be filled and what kind of correction and filling it needs. That is when it turns into a “vacant place.”
And in fact, we reveal the “place” and not the Creator Himself outside of this place as an abstract form not clothed in matter. We reveal only matter and the form clothed in matter. And that is why the Creator is also called “place.” The light is also a manifestation within the place of desire, a form clothed in matter. And outside of this place, we have nothing to speak about.
Therefore, when it is said about commandments of man in relation to the place, it refers to the desire that has received the correct form. It is to this correct form that we turn, and for us it represents the Creator (Bo-reh), that is, “come and see.”
“An empty place is a place ready to receive corrections and perfection.” And everything else is just an “empty stomach,” unable to receive food because a person is immersed in other concerns. It is not called an “empty place.”
“Empty,” by definition, is a place that has been sufficiently corrected to resemble the quality of bestowal, which will be called the Creator, “come and see.”
[47452]
From Daily Kabbalah Lesson “The Study of the Ten Sefirot,” 7/6/11
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